DOVES. 
Genus STREPTOPELIA (Bp.). 
The generic-name by which this the best known group of Doves 
has been known until recently is J'urtur ; but unfortunately, as Hartert 
has shown (Hand-List of British Birds, p. 161), Selby’s name, which was 
instituted in 1835, was preoccupied by Boddaert in 1773 for a totally 
different form of Pigeon, and the name TJurtur must therefore be 
suppressed. The next oldest name which can be applied to the group 
is Streptopelia of Bonaparte, published in 1857. 
Sharpe in his Hand-List divides the genus Turtur as it originally 
stood, into many genera of which Twurtur, Streptopelia, Onopopelia, 
and Spilopelea are all represented in India, but with the exception 
of Onopopelia ( = Oenopopeha), in which the sexes differ in plumage, 
I see no valid reason for dividing the others and, therefore, retain them 
under the title and genus Streptopelia. 
According to Blanford, in the genus Streptopelia ( = Turtur) 
there are seven species of Doves occurring within Indian limits, but 
of these I reduce orientalis and ferrago to the rank of subspecies of 
Streptopelia turtur turtur, and tigrinus to be a subspecies of suratensis. 
There are therefore still four species retained as such in the genus and, 
on the other hand, besides the above three subspecies, I accept in addi- 
tion arenicola and meena as two more subspecies of S. turtur turtur. 
In general features the birds of the genus Streptopelia may be known 
by their small size, comparatively small head and slender neck, weak 
narrow bill, and by their comparatively long and narrow wing, of which 
the 2nd and 8rd primary is the longest. The tail exceeds two- 
thirds the length of, but is never longer than, the wing itself, and it is 
considerably graduated. The feet and tarsi are formed for walking, 
the toes being narrow, and the legs strong though short. 
The sexes are similar in colour and all the species are birds of 
grey or brown plumage, and are decorated with a demi-collar or a patch 
on either side of the hind-neck. 
They are sociable but not gregarious birds, and some of the species 
are resident whilst others are migratory. 
